QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Down 0.5% - Should You Sell?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) experienced a decline of 0.5% in its share price during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock reached a low of $150.27 before recovering slightly to trade at $152.89. During this trading session, about 1,001,051 shares were exchanged, representing an 88% drop from the average daily volume of 8,575,489 shares. The previous closing price for the stock was $153.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently reviewed QUALCOMM’s stock performance. Mizuho reduced their price target for QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating as noted in their research on January 7th. On February 6th, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and established a target price of $160.00 for QUALCOMM. Melius Research initiated coverage on the stock on December 9th, issuing a "hold" rating with a price goal of $180.00. Similarly, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating with a price objective set at $250.00 on February 6th. Barclays also lowered their price target from $200.00 to $185.00, labeling the stock as "overweight" in their report dated January 17th. The overall consensus indicates that one analyst rates the stock as a sell, fourteen recommend a hold, and fifteen have issued buy ratings, with one going further to assign a strong buy rating. According to MarketBeat, QUALCOMM currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The stock has recently shown some notable statistics. QUALCOMM’s 50-day moving average stands at $163.94, while the 200-day average is slightly lower at $163.74. The company's debt-to-equity ratio is recorded at 0.49, with a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62. QUALCOMM’s market capitalization is approximately $167.22 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a PEG ratio of 2.01. Its beta value is noted at 1.28.

In its latest quarterly earnings report released on February 5th, QUALCOMM recorded earnings per share of $2.86, falling short of analysts' estimates of $2.93 by just $0.07. The company reported a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. Analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will achieve earnings per share of $9.39 for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

Recently, QUALCOMM declared a quarterly dividend that was paid out on March 27th. Shareholders on record as of March 6th received a dividend payment of $0.85. This translates to an annualized dividend of $3.40, which results in a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was also set for March 6th. Currently, the company's payout ratio is at 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In recent insider trading activities, CAO Neil Martin disposed of 744 shares of QUALCOMM stock on February 21st, at an average price of $174.83, amounting to a total of $130,073.52. After this transaction, he retains 461 shares valued around $80,596.63, reflecting a 61.74% reduction in his position. Furthermore, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares on February 12th at an average price of $169.80, totaling $509,400. This sale left him with 63,115 shares, valued at approximately $10,716,927, which signifies a 4.54% decrease in his stock ownership. Over the past three months, insiders have liquidated 27,968 shares valued at $4,685,077. Currently, corporate insiders possess 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Numerous institutional investors and hedge funds have recently adjusted their holdings of QCOM. For example, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 39.7% during the fourth quarter and now holds 1,841,103 shares worth around $284,708,000 after acquiring an additional 523,244 shares. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. added 21.9% to its holdings, bringing its total to 27,596 shares valued at $4,239,000 after adding 4,955 shares. FNY Investment Advisers LLC entered a new position in QUALCOMM valued at about $2,058,000. Burney Co. significantly increased its stake by 665.6% during the same quarter. In total, institutional investors and hedge funds hold 74.35% of the company's stock.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

QUALCOMM Incorporated is dedicated to developing and commercializing essential technologies for the wireless sector globally. The company operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment focuses on developing and supplying integrated circuits and system software based on technologies such as 3G, 4G, and 5G, intended for wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and location-based products.

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